1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an acoustic characterization technique for particle integrity, and in particular, to an acoustic characterization technique for determining the integrity of outer coatings on nuclear fuel particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a new design particle bed reactor (PBR), a typical fuel rod consists of millions of tiny multi-layered spherical fuel particles, each having a nominal diameter of roughly about 500 microns (.mu.m). The innermost "kernel" of each particle consists of enriched uranium. The intermediate layers of each particle consist of buffering carbon layers. The outermost layer of each particle consists of a thin coating of a metallic carbide whose primary purpose is to serve as a barrier against escaping fission products. It is readily understood that maintaining the integrity of the fuel particle's outer carbide layer is of the utmost importance.
Currently, there are only a few inspection techniques applicable to determining the integrity of such particles. Most of these techniques are destructive in nature, and all of the prior art techniques are applicable to only a small percentage of a given batch or lot of particles.
Accordingly, there is a need for an inspection technique for determining the integrity of a nuclear fuel particle which is nondestructive in nature and can inspect each particle quickly and reliably.